


All in One Day

by TheEasternEmpress



Series: Baby's First [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Baby Yoda loves his dad, Being a dad is hard but baby yoda is worth it, Bonding, Din buys baby yoda lots of new things, Din loves his baby boy, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Takes place all in one day, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24216526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEasternEmpress/pseuds/TheEasternEmpress
Summary: A stop at a local market gives Din and his son something that money can’t buy.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Din Djarin
Series: Baby's First [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704631
Comments: 64
Kudos: 217





	1. Baby's First Stuffed Animal

**Author's Note:**

> There are going to be four total “Baby’s First”s in this part, which is different from what I’ve done before. They all piggyback off of this one, which technically has two baby’s firsts, but the second one is a surprise :) Enjoy and thank you for reading!

Just like every morning since they left Nevarro after their final fight, Din woke up calmly without jolting awake like he used to. The time Din was spending with his son had left him the happiest and most relaxed he had been in decades. The baby was still sleeping in Din’s lap, snoring softly. Looking out the windows of the cockpit, Din saw that the snowstorm from yesterday had ended and a blanket of snow had fallen across the ground. It was only a few inches, so it wouldn’t cause any problems for their trek to the market. The early morning sun reflected against the ground, highlighting certain spots to make them appear as if they were glowing. 

Din preferred going to markets early in the morning because there would be less people and he would draw less eyes. The child was still asleep, so Din tucked him into his bassinet and began the walk to the market with the bassinet floating at his side. The child would wake soon and would cry if he saw that his father was not near. Din also wanted to buy the child some new toys and clothes and wanted the child’s approval before he bought them. 

The snow crunching under Din’s boots was the only sound of the early morning in the market town. The few people awake at this hour were either merchants or other people who wanted to shop without the presence of large crowds. Din wanted to stock up on supplies for at least another month, but he also wanted to buy some street food for the child and himself as a special treat. The child loved any kind of meat that Din provided for him, so he was sure that he would find something from a street vendor that the child would gobble up. 

The first stall that Din came across sold portions of veg-meat and polystarch bread, of which Din bought many. They also sold dried fruit, which contained many of the same nutrients as regular fruit but didn’t go bad as fast, so Din traded credits for those as well. 

Moving on, Din heard soft babbles from the bassinet on his right and looked over to see that the child was awake and staring at him. Din reached out to affectionately stroke one of his son’s ears and the child sighed sweetly in response. 

The next few stalls had nothing that Din was interested in, but he could see that the child was absorbing everything he saw with curious eyes. Din eventually found a stall that sold clothes and found a set of pants and shirt that would fit the child. As Din reached into his pocket to pay, the vendor, who had just finished with another customer, asked, “Is that your child?” as she pointed to the bassinet at Din’s side. The child was peeking his head out and staring at the clothes in front of him with wide eyes. 

Din responded with a quick, “Yes,” before dropping a few credits into the vendor’s open palm.

“If you are looking for supplies for a child, there’s an old woman named Eila a few stalls over that sell things for children.” The vendor said, pointing Din in the direction of said stall. Din nodded and began his way over to said stall. Even from a distance, the stand stood out to him because of the colorful toys on display. The child must have noticed as well because he began to coo excitedly. 

A woman with grey hair, whom Din presumed to be Eila, noticed him making his way to her stall and smiled at him with a, “Welcome, Mandalorian. What can I help you with?”

Din nodded at her and said, “I’m looking for some toys for my son.” As Din finished his sentence, the child reached out of his bassinet and grabbed the table, using it as leverage to pull himself out. Din instantly reached out to grab him and pull him to his chest, but Eila only laughed.

“It seems he is excited for some new toys,” she said with amusement in her voice. The child was reaching above his head with grabby hands, clearly seeing something he wanted. Din looked to see what it was and saw that it was a stuffed animal in the shape of a mythosaur. Its face looked almost identical to the pendant that the child refused to part from, which was probably why he was drawn to it. There was only one problem; the stuffed mythosaur was at least three times the size of the baby. If he kept it in his bassinet, which he was bound to do, it would easily engulf him with its size. 

Eila laughed again and said, “He likes the mythosaur. I admit that I’ve been trying to sell that for a while, and no better client than a Mandalorian’s child. Would you like to have it?”

“Yes, please. How much do I owe you?” Din asked, putting the baby back in his bassinet. 

Eila shook her head as she pulled the mythosaur down and placed it in Din’s hands, “You can have it free of charge. I haven’t seen a child this cute be this excited over a toy in a long time.”

Surprised by her kindness, Din only managed to say, “Thank you.” 

Seeing the toy he so desperately wanted in his father’s hands, the child reached out of his bassinet and grabbed at the toy while whimpering. Quick to stop any possible crying, Din placed the mythosaur into the child’s outstretched arms. He quickly disappeared behind the huge toy, but Din saw him wrap his arms around it and snuggle into it. 

“May I ask you a question?” the vendor whispered, pulling Din from the moment he was having with his son. He nodded, knowing she was probably going to ask him a question about his culture.

“Do you remove your armor to hold him?” she asked unexpectedly. Din had never thought to do so as the child seemed perfectly content whenever Din held him. 

“No, I do not,” Din replied. 

Eila nodded and expressed, “Babies form better bonds when they can feel the warmth of their parent’s skin. I understand that you are a Mandalorian, but surely you are able to take a private moment to remove your armor to hold the little one. Skin-to-skin contact is necessary for proper development in children and while I know nothing of his species, I’m sure it would only help him.”

Din wasn’t sure what to say back. He wanted to be the best possible father to his son, so would that mean removing the armor that was meant to protect himself and his son? It would not be against the Creed to remove his armor to hold his son, so why did the idea of doing so scare Din so much?

“I’ll think about it,” was Din’s response. For most, such a phrase has a “no” hidden behind it, but Din is someone who chooses his words carefully to ensure the meaning behind them. The woman smiled and replied, “I understand. May I recommend some other things for you to take home with you for your little one?”

In the end, Din walked away with several illustrated children’s books, a music box, some art supplies and paper, and two more sets of clothes for the child. Din also purchased two meat kebabs from a vendor as breakfast for himself and the child. Happy with his purchases for the day, Din began to make his way back to the Razor Crest. The child was still happily snuggled into the belly of his new toy, grasping it tightly as if he never wanted to let go. 

Once back on the Razor Crest, Din began to put his purchases away while the child ran around the ship, dragging the mythosaur behind him by its tail and giggling loudly. Din couldn’t help but smile at the happy image of his tiny baby dragging his huge toy behind him. Din’s thoughts brought him back to the words of Eila and he sighed deeply. As he watched his son run in a circle with the mythosaur at his heels, he was reminded of the fact that he would sacrifice everything for this child. He had already risked his career and life for his son, now he would sacrifice his armor.

Din began the process of removing his chest and shoulder plates while continuing to watch his child playing. After running in a circle for so long, the child became dizzy and tired, plopping onto the ground and breathing heavily. Din reached down to pick up his son, who was more than happy to be held. Pressing him to his chest, Din heard the child sigh at being able to feel the warmth of Din’s chest. He brought his little hands up to grasp at his shirt and rested another hand over Din’s heart. 

The affection and love of the moment brought a flow of unstoppable words from Din’s mouth, “Listen, little one, I’ve never really had another person to spend my time with so I’m not really good with my words or actions. I … I want to be a good dad to you, but I’m not sure how to do that. No matter what, I promise you that I’m always going to take care of you, protect you, and keep you happy. You make me very happy and if you’re even half as happy in my company as I am in yours, then I think I’ve succeeded.”

As Din continued to feel his son against his chest for the first time, the words just continued to spill from his mouth. He told his son of his own parents and how they sacrificed themselves for him and that Din was prepared to do the same for his child. He told him how the foundlings were highly valued among Mandalorians and that family was extremely important to them. How to be a Mandalorian was to be prepared to lay your life down for your family at any time. 

“You are my ad, my son, and I am your buir, your father. I will protect you always and I will love you always,” Din finished, leaning down to press his forehead to the top of his child’s head. The baby cooed and Din leaned back up to look at his son. The baby grabbed the fabric near his shoulders to pull himself up in order to wrap his arms around Din’s neck in a hug. Din sighed and embraced his son, grateful to the wise old woman who had helped him bond with his baby.


	2. Baby's First Bedtime Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before laying down for his first nap of the day, Din's son demands something from him.

Once Din had finished spilling his heart to his son, the child went right back to playing with his new toy. The baby likely didn’t understand the heaviness of the moment they had shared, but Din’s heart was full of love all the same. 

Leaving the child in the ship’s hull, Din went to the cockpit to eat the still-warm meat kebab in private. He always fed the child before himself, but Din wanted to let him continue to play. Removing his helmet, Din couldn’t help but think that there would be a time when he would show his son his face. As he ate, Din became lost in thought at the possibilities his son would unlock for his future. Mere months ago, Din never thought he would be able to retire from being a bounty hunter because it was the only thing keeping him going. Now, he had a son he needed to stay alive for and care for. Din hoped that someday, he would be able to settle down and live a normal life with his son. Once his Tribe relocated, he could bring his child to the covert to raise him as a Mandalorian. 

Finishing his meal, Din returned to the hull only to find the baby sitting on top of the mythosaur toy almost as if he were a rider that had tamed the great beast. He was bouncing on it to make it move forward, which truly made it seem as if he was riding a mythosaur. The sweet sounds of happiness from his child warmed his heart, but the sight in front of Din also made his sides hurt from laughter. His laughter alerted his son to his presence and caused him to bounce his mythosaur over to Din, which only made Din laugh harder. The adorable yet hilarious sight was something Din hoped was permanently etched into his memory.

Kneeling down to his son’s level and stroking his head, Din asked, “Do you enjoy your toy?” The baby bounced up and down a few times in pure joy and for the first time, Din felt the overwhelming urge to kiss his little one’s forehead. The shock of such a thing caused Din to stop laughing and sigh. Doing such a thing would not go against any Code or Creed, but Din just wasn’t ready yet. 

The child broke him out of his thoughts by pulling on his pant leg to get his attention. Once he noticed his father looking at him, he began to bounce around on his toy some more. It still amazed Din just how easily the little one could make all his troubles disappear and be replaced with the joy he brought him.

“Okay, little one,” Din spoke, “I’ll watch you play. When you’re done, I’ll give you your breakfast.” If the child heard him, he didn’t show it as he continued to make his way across the ship to his heart’s content. Din leaned up against the side of the ship, happy to just watch his boy having the time of his life.

The child began to make his way towards Din, looking up at him with a sweet smile on his face. His excitement made him bounce higher and higher until on the way back down from one jump, he landed wrong on his toy and began to fall off. Quick to prevent his son from injury, Din dashed forward and caught his son in his arms. Din tugged him up quickly and held him to his chest. The fall would likely not have hurt his boy and he probably wouldn’t have even cried, but Din wouldn’t risk it.

Deciding it was time to move on from playtime, Din told his son, “I think it’s time for your breakfast now.” The child whimpered and gazed longingly back at his toy, reaching his arms out for it as Din took him in the opposite direction. 

“I’ll let you play with your toy some more once you’re done eating,” Din said softly. When Din put him down to grab the meat kebab, the baby began to crawl back over to his toy. Din sighed deeply and grabbed the baby to put him back where Din had placed him. The baby looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, letting out a single cry and reaching for his toy. Din’s heart stopped at the sight and he fumbled to break off a piece of meat for the child. He always cheered up when he was fed and Din was not prepared to be the reason his son was crying. 

The baby kept turning his head away from Din in protest of being separated from his toy, but Din was persistent and eventually managed to get a bit of food in the baby’s mouth. Once he got a taste of the food, his face instantly perked up and he opened his mouth wide for more. Din sighed in relief and continued to feed the child. 

Once the meat was all gone, Din put his son back on the ground and said, “Okay, you can go finish playing with your toy now.” The child’s giggles echoed across the ship as he ran to his toy as fast as his little feet could take him. He tackled the toy face-first, snuggling into it as if it were a friend he hadn’t seen in years. 

Din watched the child for a bit before remembering that he needed to put away the supplies he had bought. Din pulled all of the rations out of one of his cabinets and placed the new rations of veg-meat and polystarch bread in the back and the old rations and dried fruit in the front. Din wanted to finish the old food first, but the dried fruit would make meals feel less boring. 

Putting the supplies away only took a few minutes but by the time Din was done, his son was ready for his first nap of the day. Reaching down to pick up his boy, Din asked, “Did being a mythosaur rider tire you out?” 

As Din walked past the bag with his purchases for his son, the baby cooed and reached for the bag. Knowing what he wanted, Din brought him over to the bag and held it open to let him look inside. The child reached out and grabbed something from the bag before holding it out to his father. Taking it into his hands, Din saw that the child had grabbed one of the children’s books that Eila had recommended. This one had a brightly colored cover with the words Goodnight Moon written across the front.

Din’s parents had read stories to him as a child and he had sometimes read stories to foundlings from his Tribe, but that had been so long ago and Din wasn’t even sure if he was good at it. Mandalorians were meant to be good warriors, not good storytellers, but Din would be damned if he didn’t do his best to read his son a story. 

“Would you like me to read you a story before you take your nap?” Din asked the sleepy baby in his arms. The baby babbled and nodded, putting his hand over the one Din was grasping the book with. Din walked the baby over to his bassinet and placed him in it before covering him with one of his blankets. As Din was sitting down to begin reading, the baby crawled out of his bassinet and into Din’s lap. Din wrapped an arm around his son to keep him balanced in his lap and opened the book to the first page. 

“In the great green room,” Din began, “there was a telephone, and a red balloon, and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon.” The baby patted the pages, so Din pointed to each image and told the child what everything was. 

As Din continued to read, he would point to all of the items in the room to show the child what they were. As he continued to read, the child would understand what certain items were. Whenever the baby found something before Din, he would giggle and smack his hands against the book in excitement. 

The book was short and Din reached the final page in a few minutes. “Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere,” Din finished, closing the book softly. The child yawned in Din’s arms and Din was happy to see that his storytelling had helped soothe the baby. Din placed the book at his side to put the baby back in his bassinet and cover him with his blankets. Din stroked the child’s ear until he fell asleep and then quietly closed his bassinet. 

Din sighed and picked the book back up, content with himself. He was constantly doubting his abilities as a new father, but it seemed as if his child loved him no matter what. Fatherhood was a complicated adventure, but simple moments like this made it all worth it for Din.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodnight Moon by Margeret Wise Brown is not mine in any way and all credit for Goodnight Moon goes to the author. I feel like this book is a classic children’s book and so many have nostalgic memories of it. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Baby's First Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din’s baby gets into his new art supplies when Din isn’t looking and creates the biggest mess that Din has ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sure why, but I’m not a huge fan of this chapter. Either way, I hope you all like it and thank you for reading! Also, I completely made up all of the information about repairing, but this page was really helpful when it came to getting an image of what the Razor Crest looks like: https://www.behance.net/gallery/94933395/The-Mandalorians-Razor-Crest-cross-section

After reading his son to sleep, Din realized that he had nothing to do to occupy his time. When he was caring for the child and bounty hunting, he felt like there weren’t enough hours in a day to complete everything he had to get done. Now that he was taking some time away from his job, there was nothing for him to do once the baby was tucked away in his bassinet. 

Looking out the window of the cockpit, Din stared at the snow-covered ground in front of him. The child usually slept for an hour or so once he was napping, so Din figured that it would be fine to leave him alone for a bit while he did some work on the ship’s exterior. He had been meaning to do so for some time and now seemed like the perfect opportunity. Grabbing his tools and doing a quick check-up on his son, Din dropped the hatch to begin his work. 

The first thing that Din cleaned was the ship’s headlights. A simple thing, but vital when you needed them. After all, a cloudy lens was practically useless. Moving on to the landing gear, Din used his tools to tighten every screw and ensured that the landing gear’s sensors were functioning properly. Once all three landing gears were cleared, Din made his way to the repulsor grilles along the side of the ship. They were always hard to clean and maintain, but they were extremely important during takeoff. 

Soon enough, Din had finished his repair of the grilles. Time had slipped by and Din wasn’t sure how long he had been out for, but he hoped it wasn’t long enough for his child to have woken up. There was more repairing to do, but Din would leave that for another day. Packing up his tools, Din dropped the hatch and stepped into the ship.

When he heard soft noises as soon as he stepped inside, Din was instantly alarmed. Had his son not slept well without his father there? Had he had a nightmare and woken himself up in fear only to see his father was not there to comfort him? Had he been sick again and for a second time, Din hadn’t noticed?

Din’s questions were soon answered when he spotted his son, paintbrush in hand, splattering paint across the walls of the ship’s hull. Laying around him were the paints and crayons that Din had bought him earlier that morning and as Din looked around, he could see scribbles and splatters across the ship. They didn’t reach very high, but they were all along every wall in the hull. He could see that the paint was still wet, but the waxy residue from the crayons would be difficult to remove. 

The clatter of Din’s toolbox hitting the ground after falling from his grip in shock alerted his son to his presence. He giggled and cooed, dropping the paintbrush in his grasp to happily make his way to his father. Din was still stunned speechless as he stared at the colorful streaks along the walls. Even the tugging at the hem of his pants didn’t pull his attention from the mess his child had made. As soon as the child whimpered and yanked at his leg, Din tilted his head down to give him his attention. Seeing that he had his father’s attention, the child waddled to a corner of the ship and pointed.

Looking in that direction, Din’s heart softened. He was staring at a crude crayon drawing of himself with his son next to him, hand-in-hand. Din sighed, no longer knowing how to feel. He was upset, even angry, that his child had drawn all over the ship. He would never have yelled at the child, but he was still unhappy. Even if the child was still young and may not have known any better, he had never done anything like this before. 

Kneeling down to his son’s level, Din began, “This drawing of us is very nice, but you should have drawn it on the paper I bought instead of the walls. You also shouldn’t have drawn all over the walls because now I have to clean it all up. This behavior is unacceptable and from now on, you won’t be allowed to use your art supplies unless I’m with you. I’m a little upset right now, but I’m not going to yell at you.” Din’s tone of voice was firm and stern because he was still unsure how to discipline a usually well-behaved child. 

The child lowered his head and made a noise of sadness as he realized that he had done something wrong. Slipping off his gloves, Din softly brushed a finger across his son’s cheek to show him that he still loved him. In return, the child rested his hand against his father’s knee in apology. Din sighed and picked his son’s hand up to run his thumb over it.

“Now the two of us need to start cleaning up your mess.” Din spoke, breaking the moment. The child babbled and kicked his feet out in response. 

Din grabbed two rags and filled up a bucket with hot, soapy water. He knew that he would do most of the work, but he wanted the child to see that when you did something wrong, you had to do something to help fix it. 

Dunking one of the rags in the water, Din handed it to the child and directed, “You’re going to start cleaning the paint because it’s still wet and should come off the easiest.” The child cooed and began smearing the wet rag against the paint. As Din thought, the paint came away with minimal effort. 

Turning to the crayon art, Din began to scrub away at the colorful wax. With the heat of the water, the soap, and elbow grease, the crayon began to gradually disappear. Din sighed in relief, happy that his ship wasn’t going to be a permanent piece of art. 

He was nearly done cleaning when he found himself in the corner where the drawing his son had made of the two of them was. Din paused, rag inches away from the drawing. At his side, he heard a coo as the child stepped forward to place his hand against the drawing of Din. Mimicking his son’s action, Din reached forward to rest his hand against the picture of his son. Seeing how much the child liked it and knowing how much Din himself loved it, he decided to leave the drawing in the ship. It was tucked away in a corner, so it would be easy to miss if anyone else was ever on the ship and it could also easily be covered up. 

Taking a look around, the rest of the ship was clean of all remnants of the child’s fun. Picking him up in his arms, Din asked, “How about I show you how to properly use your art supplies? That sound like fun, little one?” The child babbled and rested his head against his father’s chest as he was carried. 

Sitting on the floor next to the bag of art supplies, Din ripped out two sheets of paper and grabbed the crayons that littered the floor. 

“I have an idea,” Din spoke, “How about I try drawing you and you try drawing me?” The child let out a high pitched squeal and clapped his hands together in delight. Grabbing the green and brown crayons, Din got to work. Din was never artistic, even as a child, but he didn’t think it mattered how good or bad his drawing skills were because it was the thought behind the drawing that mattered. 

Looking up from his drawing to peek at his son, he had his tongue sticking out of his mouth and his face scrunched up in concentration. The crayon wobbled in his three-fingered hand, but he was clearly doing his best to draw his father. Din laughed at the sight and returned to his drawing. 

After about a minute, the child let out a noise of excitement and held up his drawing with pride. The drawing was mostly scribbles of brown and grey that made up his body, but Din’s helmet had clearly had a lot of thought put into it.

Reaching forward to grab the drawing from his child, Din lovingly said, “Wow, this is great. You did an excellent job drawing me.” Pleased with his father’s approval, the child dashed forward and rested his head in his father’s hand. 

“My drawing isn’t nearly as good as yours,” Din mumbled, showing the child the mostly green and brown drawing. The child grabbed the drawing of himself from his father’s hand before crushing it to his body in a tight hug. He babbled before running off to his mythosaur toy to show it the drawing. 

Holding his son’s drawing in one hand and taking one more look at the father-son drawing in the corner of his ship, Din’s heart was content.


	4. Baby's First Lullaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After playing around the ship until evening, Din opens the last gift he bought for his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter of All in One Day! Don’t worry, there are plenty more Baby’s Firsts to come. There are technically three “firsts” in this one, but they’re a surprise :) I’ve linked the song that I used as the song from the music box at the end here. It’s what I thought of when I first had the idea for this part so I hope you like it. Thank you to everyone who has left kudos, commented, and read my series; I appreciate it so much! Lullaby - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtOyWfkg7Wc

After showing off his father’s artwork to his new stuffed friend, Din’s son toddled back over to him and reached for more paper. Din ripped out two sheets and passed one to the child. Din figured that drawing together would be a good way to bond with his son and in the deepest part of his heart, he found that he was enjoying drawing. 

“How about we draw your mythosaur toy now?” Din asked softly. The baby made an excited noise before hopping over to his toy and dragging it back over. The mythosaur was mostly just the same dull shade of brown, but that didn’t seem to stop the child as he went right back to hyperfocusing on drawing the best mythosaur in the galaxy. Din was so distracted by his son that he hadn’t started drawing yet but once the child let out an upset “ah” and reached over to scribble on the corner of Din’s paper, he began to draw as well. 

Despite neither of them having any drawing skills, the father and son enjoyed their time drawing together. Once they showed each other the drawings they had made, they laughed at how terrible they were and how little they resembled the mythosaur beside them. 

After that, Din was content to just sit back and watch his son draw whatever his little heart wanted to. Most of the time it was just colorful streaks across the paper, but Din complimented him and held on to them as if they were from the galaxy’s finest artists. 

An hour of drawing had eventually passed when the child decided to switch over to painting. Before he began, Din rolled up the child’s sleeves to prevent him from getting paint on them. The child gave a coo as a thank you before dipping his paintbrush in paint and slathering it across the paper. Once a few paintings were complete, the child ditched his paintbrush for his fingers, which he seemed to thoroughly enjoy as his giggles echoed throughout the ship. The paint was marketed as non-toxic and washable, so Din wasn’t worried about having any issues cleaning him up. 

The child eventually decided after an hour of painting that he was ready to go back to playing with his mythosaur toy. Before he could touch it with his paint-stained hands, Din carried him into the refresher to scrub all of the paint from his hands. Once Din placed him back on the ground, the child excitedly ran over to his toy to throw himself on it, which made Din smile behind his helmet. 

Watching the child bounce around on his toy, an idea popped into Din’s head. If the child enjoyed bouncing on his toy so much, what if Din dragged him around the ship on it? It would tire Din out instead of the child, but he wouldn’t care about that if it made his son happy. 

Kneeling next to the giggling child and stroking his ear, Din asked, “Would you like me to drag you around the ship on your toy?” The child clapped happily and bounced on the toy. 

“Okay, but make sure you hold on tight.” Din responded. Once Din was sure that the child had a good grip on the toy, he grabbed the end of the toy’s tail and began to drag it along the ship. The child let out a “woo!” and a giggle and held onto his mythosaur even tighter. Din watched his son as he dragged the toy around the ship and he smiled at how happy his child was. 

Seeing how much his son enjoyed this new game, Din carefully began to walk faster. As Din began to quicken his steps across the ship, the child’s giggles turned into shrieks of laughter. At that moment, Din decided that his son’s laughter was the most wonderful sound in the entire galaxy. Once he was almost at the end of the hull, he would spin the mythosaur and let it go so that it would slide across the ship. Whenever Din did this, the child would squeal with happiness. 

Din thanked his many years of training for giving him the stamina to be able to run across the ship for as long as he did. He eventually took off all of the beskar, save for his helmet, so he wasn’t weighed down by it. Even when Din became tired, he continued for his son’s enjoyment. Din had a feeling that this new game was going to become one of the child’s favorites and he would want to play it all the time. If that meant it would make his son happy, Din would be more than willing to play this game until the end of time. 

Time slipped away as father and son continued playing their new game, but the game came to a halt when the loud gurgle of the child’s stomach rang throughout the ship. Laughing quietly, Din picked his son up off his toy and asked, “How about I get you some dinner now?” Setting him down on a box, Din made a serving of the veg-meat and began spoon feeding it to his son. The child happily ate every last piece of his dinner and smiled up at his father. Din patted his head before helping him back down to the ground. 

With all of the fun and craziness of their day, Din was sure it was evening now and time to set the child to sleep. They had had such a distracting day that the child never laid down for his second nap, but he didn’t seem cranky about it. Din was sure his son would have been more upset about having his fun disrupted than not having a second nap. 

“Alright, little one, it’s time for you to go to sleep,” Din said softly as he scooped up his son. Just as he had a few hours ago, the child reached for the bag with the remaining item Din had bought for him. Pulling it out of the bag, Din saw that it was the delicately decorated music box. It was a wooden box with light carvings along the top and a handle on the bottom that would play music once it was turned. Din had never had one as a child, but he remembered his mother had one that played a song that had long since left his memory. 

“I’ll play this for you while you fall asleep, okay?” Din told the child who was running his hands across the grooves in the lid. Din brought the child up to the cockpit where his bassinet was and sat in his pilot’s chair. With one hand holding his son in his lap, the other began to carefully crank the music box until the lid popped open and the song began. 

The soft humming of a woman’s voice filled the air and the humming soon turning into singing, “Baby mine, don’t you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine.”

Hearing the song, Din knew why this box had been recommended to him. He imagined that it was intended for a mother to play for her child, but the melody worked just as well for Din and his son. Pressing his son tighter to his chest, he began to slowly sway with him to the tune of the song.

“Little one, when you play don’t you mind what they say. Let those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine,” the voice continued before humming again. The child snuggled into his father’s armorless chest, enjoying the warmth that he rarely got to receive. Din stood up from his chair and placed the music box on his seat so he could hold his son with both arms. 

He continued to rock and sway with him as the song continued, “From your head to your toes, you’re so sweet, goodness knows. You are so precious to me, cute as can be, baby of mine.” Din knew the song was over when the box closed, but the moment between him and his son was far from over. Hearing those lyrics, Din knew that he felt every word was true for how he viewed his son. He never wanted him to feel sadness or cry, just feel as happy as he was when Din was pulling him across the ship on his mythosaur toy. This child had quickly become the most precious thing in the galaxy to Din and the fact that he would do anything for his son crossed Din’s mind for the thousandth time. 

The child’s coo broke him from his thoughts and as the child raised his hand to Din’s face, he managed to slip his hand into the space between his helmet and his face to rest on his cheek. Din smiled, letting his son touch his face for the first time before lowering his forehead to meet his son’s. 

Din held his son for a few more minutes before he felt the child yawn against him. Deciding it was bedtime, Din carefully placed him in his bassinet with his soft blankets. As Din was covering him up, the child grabbed his fingers and wrapped both of his hands around one of Din’s fingers. The child brought his father’s bare hand up to his face to snuggle against it, which caused his father’s heart to melt at the sight before him. 

“Goodnight, my son. I love you,” Din spoke. This was the first time that Din had called the child his son or told him he loved him, but Din decided that tonight was the perfect time. The child seemed to not notice the significance of the words as he snuggled himself into his bassinet and released Din’s fingers from his grasp, but Din was sure that the child knew he was loved. 

Reaching behind him to grab the music box, Din cranked it until the song began again. Even half-asleep, the child seemed to notice the song was playing as a sweet smile came across his face. Settling himself in his chair, Din’s exhaustion from the day returned and as he took one last look at his son, he closed his eyes to begin to drift off to sleep. 

The soft melody of the music box continued to play as father and son fell asleep, both with hearts full of love.


End file.
